


Apprentice to the Royal Sorcerer

by Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter, Kasena



Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Genre: Apprentice!Sofia, Canon Compliant, Gen, Reformed Cedric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-04 07:57:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12164739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter/pseuds/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasena/pseuds/Kasena
Summary: Originally unconnected drabbles, they were connected to form an arching story and added onto.Having grown up in the village, Sofia was always interested in magic, and now she has the best royal sorcerer in the Ever Realm to teach her! But he doesn't seem to be quite as willing to teach as she is to learn, and Sofia really really wants to learn. Still, Sofia could always do anything she put her mind to. This was no exception.





	1. Magic 101

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Now, before you scold us for starting a new story when already in the middle of another for the same fandom, this one is already finished! It's only a matter of editing, proofing, and posting, now. I figured I'd give you all something to tide you over while we try to get more chapters backlogged for our other fics! We hope that you enjoy.

"Good morning, Mister Ceedric," Sofia hummed cheerfully. Well, it  _had_  been a good morning. Mourning his latest ruined attempt at a potion that he had been working on all night, Cedric sighed and glared at the grinning girl out of the corner of his eye.

"It's  _Cedric_. I don't know how many times- Ooh, what do you want now, Princess?"

"I wanted to come say hello!" She smiled and paused before, "Hello!"

Staring incredulously, Cedric dragged a hand down his face. "Hello." The things he put up with as royal sorcerer. "Now if you'll excuse me I,  _Cedric the Great_ , have work to do." Maybe if he said his name correctly enough she would finally get it.

"Ooo, what magical mystical sorcery are you working on today, Mister Ceedric?" Sofia walked over to the counter and leaned over- Cedric dragged her away quickly, clearing his throat.

"Nothing important!" Best to not let her know he was after he amulet - that and if she got hurt the King would have his head.

"But you're the royal sorcerer. Everything you do is important." Scowling, Cedric did his best to not show his enjoyment over the truth. Children always did know quality, he supposed.

"Yes, well, seeing as that's true then you should probably go back to playing with kittens and bunny rabbits so I can  _do_  my very important royal sorcerer work."

"Oh, Mister Ceedric, there aren't any kittens in the castle!" Opening the door, Cedric made a face as he begun pushing her out.

"Yes, yes, very nice, and it's  _Cedric_. Said. Dric."

"Oookay! Bye, Mister Ceedric!" This girl was hopeless.

"Goodbye, Princess Sofia."

::

"Hi, Mister Ceedric!"

"It's- Oh, what's the use." Sighing, Cedric didn't even bother to lift his head off his desk, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong in his potion making  _this_  time. Potions were always so difficult. Did he use the wrong kind of flower?

"Is everything okay, Mister Ceedric?" He heard her walk over. Opening his eyes, he saw the young girl was standing in front of him, looking curious and concerned.

"Nothing you can help with." She may have had magical potential, but not enough to do  _his_ level of work.

"Well, you've helped me lots, maybe I can help you!"

"Very well." Best to get it over with. "I'm having trouble with this potion that's supposed to help the castle gardens grow back after the last winter. I can make a few flowers, easily enough, but it takes work to make them stick around."

"Oh! I've been in an enchanted gardening group after school! Maybe I could help!" She was already looking over his books and ingredients, poor thing.

"If you think you can." Cedric gave a halfhearted wave of his hand, standing up and looking at the mess of a potion he had been working on for the better part of the day. He would need a new cauldron, soon. "I highly doubt an after-school gardening club will be helpful, however."

"Oh! Found it!"

"I- Wait, what?" Oh. She had.

"You're using a pale fuchsia mountain lily when you should be using a lavender mountain lily!" She held out the mentioned flower to him with a smile. Carefully taking it, Cedric studied the flower with narrowed eyes before dropping it into the cauldron, ready for any resulting enough, the potion turned the opalescent shades it was meant to, and began to steam lightly.

"You're quite good at magic, you know." Giving her another look, Cedric slowly frowned. Perhaps it was the amulet that gave her all that power? No, it was meant to amplify... Hm.

"I've been watching the best sorcerer in the kingdom." This girl certainly knew now to endear herself to people. Cedric was a little bit impressed. Clearing his throat, Cedric hesitantly patted her once on the head.

"Yes, well."

"Is there anything else you need help with, Mister Ceedric?"

"Ah, well..." Perhaps he could learn more about the girl if she stayed around. So he could steal the amulet easier. Of course. "I was going to re-organize some of my father's old magic books today."

"I can help with that!" Beside him, Wormwood cawed, causing the young princess to frown. Such an expression didn't seem right on her ever-smiling face.

"I suppose I should endeavor to keep you out of trouble," Cedric sighed, slightly grinning. At least this way he would get his work done quicker. "Come along, then. There's quite a few books he left behind."

"Oo! Like what kind of books?" She was quickly following after him, holding her dress up to keep it from dragging.

"Well, they're all magical but quite a few of them delve into magical theory more than anything." Walking over to the shelves, Cedric gestured to where dozens of books were stacked all around in loose circles. He really did need to organize them today. "Basically Magic 101 but there are some useful things upon occasion, I've found."

"Really?" ...If this weren't Princess Sofia, he would say that was a calculating gleam in her eye. As it was, it was probably nothing more than childish enthusiasm.

"Oh, yes. They're typically the books you'll see for courses if you attend a sorcery school. Let's see, we should probably sort these by the type of magic- Perhaps the title? Hm, author might work best, actually..."

"There's a school just for sorcery?" Sofia was beaming up at him, holding the book tightly to her chest. Raising an eyebrow down at her, Cedric gave a significant look to Wormwood. Did he see what Cedric truly put up with?

"Yes, there is, although you have to pass a test to even get in. I believe one year the test was hatching a dragon egg. Ridiculously difficult, considering dragons are near impervious to magic, let alone magic from  _children_." Wormwood crowed loudly beside him, and Sofia's smile quickly turned down as she held the book tighter.

"Wormwood!" She huffed and, still holding the book, stomped out of the workshop. Blinking, Cedric frowned and looked to Wormwood and, hm. That was strange.

"I don't think that's the first time I've seen her yell at you like that." It almost seemed like Sofia could understand Wormwood better than  _he_...could... "Wormy, can she understand you?" Wormwood certainly didn't seem shocked by his question, which could only mean... Oh dear... "You haven't mentioned anything about her amulet around her, have you? Oh, no, no, no, this could ruin every- She took my book!"

Well, she was far too noble and good of heart to keep it. Cedric would most likely get his book back in an hour or two.

::

Cedric hadn't gotten his book back and it had been a week and not only that but there seemed to be  _more_  books missing. They were high-level ones, too, which meant he was struggling to finish a spell when he couldn't fact-check! Hm. If his book were being stolen by whom he thought... Time for an experiment. Grabbing a low-level magic starter book, Cedric carefully left it in plain sight near the door.

By the next morning, the book was still there, but three other books a level ahead had gone missing. Arms crossed, Cedric stared at his dwindling bookshelves with a frown. Why was she taking all the higher level books but leaving the starts? It wasn't like she could use all that magic without knowing the basics! Almost the moment he'd thought that, there was a shriek, and a loud boom that rocked the castle.

Scrambling to keep things from falling over, Cedric grabbed his wand and threw open the door. "Come on, Wormwood! I have a feeling that there's a Princess who might need our help." Ugh. That felt wrong to say.

Cedric reached the room last, it seemed, as everyone else was already in the doorway. "Sofia, what happened?"

"I don't know! I was just practicing a levitation spell!"

"Cedric, would you do something?" Floundering at the king's command, Cedric looked into the room and stared at what he saw. Everything was  _on the ceiling_. "Oh, Sofia, how did this happen?"

"I don't know! I thought I said the incantation right, and I waved my wand the right way-"

"Did you practice saying the incantation  _before_  you waved your wand- Oh, what am I saying, of course you did." Sofia wouldn't make a mistake that basic, at least. Maybe her amulet boosted the spell?

"I, um... Maybe?" Sofia was playing with her hands, sheepish expression on her face.

"'Maybe'." Cedric raised his eyebrows, staring up -  _up_  - at Sofia. "Princess Sofia."

"I-"

"Hey, Sofia, you- Woah!" Staring as James was now on the ceiling himself, Cedric frowned and stuck his arm into the room, pulling it out at once as he saw the sleeve start to float up.

"Well, Princess Sofia, I must congratulate you. Instead of levitating anything you instead shifted the state of gravity in your room."

"What?! But I was just trying to levitate Clover! I didn't want all the gravity to change!"

"Which is why you practice saying the spell before actually using it!" Sighing, Cedric pulled out his wand, and, right. Deep breath. He was a great wizard and the King was not going to distract him today. "Which levitation spell did you use?"

"Um, levitio?"

"Are you sure the spell wasn't  _levatio_."

"...Maybe," she said weakly.

"You know, this is actually pretty cool!" James was walking along the ceiling and giggling like the foolish child he was, Cedric sighing and covering his eyes for a moment. The things he dealt with. "Hey, Dad, can we keep Sofia's room like this!"

"No, James.  _Hopefully,_  Cedric will be able to fix this. Right, Cedric?" Aha. Ha. Right. Fixing a child's mess. Because that was such a  _wonderful_  use of his talents and-

"Mister Cedric?"

"Novis levitio." Flourishing his wand, Cedric didn't even let everything fall an inch before he was quickly uttering the  _correct_  spell. "Levatio!" Honestly, how did one get spells so mixed up! Sofia, James, and everything else in her room were carefully set down on the ground, and everyone slowly went back to their business, except... Sighing and putting his wand away, Cedric went into the room and gave Sofia as stern a look as he could manage. "Perhaps next time you should start with the level one books."

"But we're already passed all of that in class, and I'm doing just fine!" Why did he ever have to grow a conscious? It was so much easier when he just saw her a sticky child who stole what should have been his.

"Yes but that's for a royalty school taught by fairies. Magic between fairies and sorcerers is  _quite_  different. While you can have a bit of leeway with fairy spells and they turn out okay,  _sorcerer_  spells can go horribly awry if you're not careful. An example would be your entire room ending up on your  _ceiling_."

Sofia sighed. "I guess I just wasn't meant to be a sorcerer. You can have all your books back, Mister Cedric."

Opening his mouth to respond, Cedric frowned and closed it, blinking at Sofia before slowly grinning. "You finally got my name right." He was starting to think that would never happen!

"Was I saying it wrong before?"

"Oh, nevermind." He had been forced to reassure small children. What had become of his life? "And I will take my books, back, thank you." Huffing, Cedric started levitating them out of the room. "I don't want you reading these again until you read all the year one books that you'll need to know for these spells."

"Wait, you're still letting me use your books?" Beside him, Wormwood cawed as well. Cedric waved him off.

"Oh, relax, Wormy. And yes, of course. I don't have any need of year one books at the moment, although it would be nice if you let me know you take them before I find them missing."

"Yes! Yes of course, thank you so much, Mister Ceedric!" Well, that hadn't lasted long, had it? Was it that she just couldn't say certain names and words? He never noticed her having problems with it before.

"Yes, yes, it's the least I can do since I am the greatest sorcerer in the land."

"You definitely are," she said with a nod. Just as he was about to leave- "Oh, and I know it's Cedric, but I think Ceedric just sounds more magical."

Well... Ceedric didn't sound  _so_  bad, he supposed.


	2. Daycare Duties

"Babysitter, Wormy, can you believe it! I have incredible amounts of magic and am royal sorcerer of the land and they put me in charge of  _babysitting_  a bunch of spoiled, icky, sweaty,  _dirty_  little children!" Wormwood cawed and Cedric just knew that wormy was agreeing with him. "I need a spell that will get them to actually listen to me. I can't use anything mind controlling, the King would have my head for that- Perhaps something so that I can understand them? Yes, that might be best. Heavens know that I can barely understand a word of what they're squeaking is all about."

Yes perfect! A spell to understand children! Why didn't he think of something like this before? It would be the fastest way to get them out of his hair, as well! Hm, one of the few that came with certain wand movements. Well, perfect spells were rarely easy. "Stand back, Wormwood, and prepare to see what my genius does now!"

"Oh Mister Ceedric!"

"Sofia, you know it's Cedric."

"Hey, Ceedric doesn't sound that bad, really."

"You two are completely hopeless."

Wand slipping on the third wand movement, Cedric silently cursed before quickly finishing his spell and shuddering as the magic took hold of him. Quite a reaction for something that was supposed to be a simple understanding spell. Still, better than nothing! "Yes, yes, alright, I'm coming."

"That didn't sound like Mister Ceedric," Sofia said on the other side of the door. That's because he wasn't 'Ceedric', now was he? Chuckling to himself at his own humor, Cedric opened the door and... Why was the doorknob further up than it should be? Strange. Did a spell backfire and hit the door? Hm. It must have.

"What is it you all are on about now? I might be looking after you for the day but that doesn't mean I can drop everything at a moment's notice to-"

"Oh. My. Gosh. Mister Ceedric, you're so  _cute!_ " ...What.

"I  _beg_  your pardon!" The three children were suddenly much taller and- Did his voice just squeak? Why was his-  _Oh, no_. "Wormwood- Wormwood! Where's that spell book!" The slipped wand movement-  _Oh no no no_.

"Oh, was this another spell?"

"Most likely a backfired spell," Princess Amber snickered.

"It-" Well, technically it was. "I am in perfect control of my magic, thank you!" Princess Amber was almost as tall as him. That was...unsettling. "No need to worry, I just need to find the right spell to fix this."

"Ooh, Mister Ceedric, your hair is longer. It's pretty." There was a caw from Wormwood that sounded very much like laughter, Cedric giving them both dirty looks as he conjured a ribbon before tying his hair back.

"It was a phase. One which I obviously corrected once I was older." Ugh, had he really grown his hair out like this before? Horrifying.

"Well, I think it looks  _great!_ "

"We had just come up to invite you to a picnic, but... given your current state, I guess we'll have to put you down for a no."

"Oh, dear, how dreadful to miss such a  _wonderful_  event," Cedric drawled, pushing a stool over to his desk and jumping up on it. How did Sofia always manage to run around looking at books when she was this small? She was even smaller than he was right now!

"We even have some of your favorite," Sofia hummed beside him. "Gooseberry pie." Pausing in flipping through the pages, Cedric narrowed her eyes at a grinning Sofia.

"You know exactly what you're doing, don't you?" This was the girl who jumped right into year two sorcery without reading year one.

"I'm... getting you to come to a picnic with us?"

"Oh- Fine. At least I'll be able to keep you three out of trouble." Hefting the book he was looking through into his arms, Cedric stepped off the stool. "I'll find the spell on our way. Well? Hurry up, then, I haven't got all day."

"Oh, good! And don't worry, Wormwood, there are a couple green apples for you, too!" Sofia took Cedric's hand and hurried them along. Wormwood flew after them, Cedric almost positive that he was mocking him in some way. Maybe that was just his imagination, though... It had to be. Wormwood would never say a bad thing about him!

"Must you drag me along like I truly am a child." Honestly, this girl got far too excited about things.

"I mean you kind of are," Prince James said helpfully.

"I'm still older-" Wait, was he older than them? Juggling his book around to free up the hand, Cedric felt how long his hair was. Twelve. Definitely twelve. "Yes. I'm still older than you three."

Sofia giggled as they made their way outside. "Oh, Cedric." Oh, she said his name correctly again. Hm, she did that so rarely, although she was starting to use that and 'Ceedric' in equal amounts.

"Perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised if you messed up the spell enough to where you start de-aging during our picnic." There was a reason he didn't like Princess Amber.

"Oh, Amber, Mister Cedric is the best sorcerer in the kingdom, he can fix a little spell." And this was why Sofia was his favorite of the children - not that that was saying very much.

"Of course I can. It'll just take finding the right page the spell is on, is all. I'm sure I can deal with a picnic at this age."

"Ah, there you are, children, and - Oh, dear." Just don't blush, Cedric, just don't blush.

"I'm perfectly capable of handling this situation, Baileywick." On the name, Cedric heard his voice give a sharp crack. Right. Keep making eye contact. Pretend nothing happened. Sofia giggled at his side.

"Don't worry, Baileywick, I know Mister Ceedric will fix this in no time." Another reason Sofia was his favorite of the brats. At least  _she_  actually knew a great sorcerer when she saw one.

"Precisely! I would be loathe to leave the children on their own since I've been recruited into watching over them today, however." Yes, pretend to be responsible. Maybe this time he would actually fool Baileywick.

"If Cedric is not at his proper age by dinner, I will be telling the King," Baileywick informed them. "Now, do you have everything you need for your picnic?" Oh no. Inform the King? They couldn't inform the King! Cedric would probably be tossed out of the castle for messing up as much as this!

"Yes, Baileywick, thank you." Princess Amber gave an obviously fake smile, fanning at her face. "We'll let you know if we need anything else, however."

"Okay! James, you brought all the fruit?" Sofia was smiling at her step - brother, and Cedric had to wonder how a person could be so cheery. Perhaps all of her nastiness had been put in that clone of hers. Hm, that might explain it, actually.

"Well, I brought most of the fruit, but I also brought even  _better_!" Prince James held up a basket filled to the brim with cookies and pieces of cake - Cedric saw maybe one orange. Maybe.

"James, you were supposed to bring strawberries and blueberries and-"

"But  _cookies_! This is much better! Besides, there's some of that stuff at the bottom."

"That's okay." Ah, Sofia. Always the one to stop the fights. Bless her. "We can just pick some fresh ones in the garden! That way, they'll taste even better!"

Amber huffed. "I am not eating anything that hasn't thoroughly been cleaned and hand washed." Rolling his eyes, Cedric set his book down in the picnic area and heaved a great sigh.

"Come along, children. I'll use a spell to wash the fruit after it's picked." The less time he spent here the better. "In  _my day_  we never had to 'wash' our fruit. Why, I remember eating blueberries straight from the bush when I was studying!"

"Well," Amber said with a smirk. "That does explain a few things."

"Amber!"

"Quite." Curse these children. Huffing, Cedric waved over Wormwood, relaxing a bit when he settled on his shoulders. Having such a different angle on things was disconcerting, to say the least.

"So, Mister Ceedric, what spell were you trying to do," Sofia asked him with a smile.

"Oh, nothing too important. Just a simple understanding spell."

"Oh. Well, um... How did this happen from that?"

"I believe I made an error in one of the wand movements and due to this being the family wand there was quite a bit of power behind the spell used. I'm sure it'll be fine once I reverse it." Hopefully.

"Ooh! Okay!" And with that, she was back to humming happily, carrying her rabbit- "Clover, that's not nice." Side-eying the girl, Cedric gave a small frown. The amulet was said to grant powers so perhaps she had the power to speak to animals? It would make the most sense. Oh, yes, children always talked to animals, but Sofia talked as if she knew what they were saying. "Don't be silly," she murmured. "Mister Ceedric is perfectly fine."

"Oh, don't mind her," Amber said beside him. "She's always talking to that pet rabbit of hers."

"Amber, I've told you. Clover is not a pet, he's my friend."

"I don't find anything wrong with it." For some reason, Amber reminded him far too much of the nasty kids he met in Hexley Hall. "Wormwood is my friend and I talk to him quite frequently. Isn't that right, Wormy?" Hm. Maybe one day he'd use an animal translation spell. At that moment, Wormwood seemed to not be paying any attention to him.

"Quite." As he said early. Dirty, sticky little children that he had no use for. Hmph. Were they really this short? He felt far shorter than he should have been. "Sofia, will this take very long? I'd like to go onto the blanket, these are new shoes."

"It'll go faster if you help. I mean, you can tell us which have the brightest, most delicious colors."

"Hm. You're right. Your efforts would simply be wasted if I wasn't here! Come along, James. You can start picking at the ones I point out." As the twins hurried on ahead, Cedric looked to Sofia.

"How on earth do you deal with those two every day?" He could barely handle five minutes of them.

"What do you mean?" She said with a small frown. "They're my brother and sister."

"Exactly." He could barely handle his own for five minutes let alone every single day.

"Well I think they're great," she said definitively.

"As you wish." Cedric pulled his wand, absently flicking at one of the apple trees and nodding as the best looking apples began to fly into the basket on Sofia's wrist. "Why are you three throwing a picnic today, anyways? It's so  _gloomy_  out." Clouds had been threatening to rain for days now and there were only brief snippets of sunshine.

"Because we try to have one every week. Sometimes we have them inside." Did this girl ever stop smiling? She probably didn't. How did she manage to always be so  _happy_.

"I think you should have this one inside." Flourishing his wand at another tree, Cedric made a noise very similar to a screech as something smacked his hand and knocked his wand out of it at the same time.

"Rex, no, that's not a stick! Clover, help me get back Mister Cedric's wand!" Sofia and the rabbit were off after that irritating dog at once, Cedric throwing his arms up as it sunk in what just happened.

"That mangy- Wormy! I need that wand back!" If he didn't use his family wand then the spell would be too strong to reverse!

"Rex! Not again, come back!'

"Are you two playing with Rex?" Amber frowned, not at all helping. "We should be getting back to our picnic-"

"That mangy mutt stole my wand!"

"He can't change back without his wand. Oh, James! Help us get Rex!"

"On it, Sof! C'mere, Rex, it's not playtime anymore!"

"Ooo! Flipendo!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sofia pointing a little wand- Wait.

"Wha- Since when did you start carrying a wand?" Cedric frowned, temporarily distracted from Rex and the fact he had now been flipped around. "Where did you get that? If it's not a good quality then your spells won't work like they should- You know, you should consider making your own wand. If you do it right then they can be quite invaluable."

"I borrowed one from the fairies- Mister Cedric look out!" Blinking, Cedric followed Sofia's gaze to see James' awful mutt was about- Had now knocked right into him. Grabbing the dog by the collar, Cedric scrambled to get his balance and dug his heels into the ground.

"Drop that wand right now you mutt! That is a precious family heirloom!"

"Rex, drop it boy! Drop it!" Sofia came over and kneeled next to the dog, petting behind his ears. The second the wand was dropped Cedric was grabbing it and holding onto it tightly, glaring at the menace of a creature that  _dare_  attempted to steal what was his. Feeling Wormwood settle on his shoulder again, Cedric huffed.

"Oh, a great big help  _you_  were."

"Good job, Rex, you're a good boy," Sofia hummed, continuing to pet the dog, smiling at it.

"Ugh.  _Dogs_." Letting Sofia and now James fawn over the dog, Cedric moved to gather the baskets of fruit and cast a simple cleansing charm over them, popping a blueberry into his mouth to make sure Amber wouldn't complain. "There we are. Perfectly safe to eat."

"Hmph. Now that we have everything can we move this along?" Doing his best to not mock the girl, Cedric levitated the baskets and headed back towards their picnic area, keeping a tight grip on his wand this time- Actually, thinking on wands...

"You said you got a wand from those fairies that teach your school, yes?"

"Ah, maybe?" Raising an eyebrow, Cedric stared at Sofia steadily. The girl never could keep to a lie, so she would probably break any- "I might not have  _told_  them about it." Sighing, Cedric shook his head.

"Alright, let me see it. Wands made by fairies usually only do basic spells the best. Anything else and they tend to go a bit awry." Hanging her head, the little princess handed the wand over to him. Studying it for a moment, Cedric slowly nodded. "You would be better off using one of the wands from my workshop. I believe I have one that will work well for you that you can have-"

"Really?! I can have one of your wands?!" Oh, wow, that was loud. That was very loud and he was being hugged- He wasn't much surprised by the hugging.

"Ah, right." Clearing his throat, Cedric gently pat Sofia on the back- Oh, that was strange. She wasn't much shorter than he was right now. "No problem."

"Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Oh, erm, yes. Yes, you're quite welcome."

"Sofia!"

"Coming, Amber!"

Staring after the two, Cedric felt a reluctant smile shine through. He supposed that spending a few hours as a child hadn't been too bad, overall. Sofia stealing a wand from the fairies, though... This girl was interesting.


	3. Witchlet

"Oh Mister Ceedric!" Ha! This time he managed to not blow up his potion! Ooh, and Sofia was right on time. If he did this right then this potion should, when sprinkled on top of her, make a copy of all jewelry she was wearing and then magically teleport the  _real_  pieces into his pockets! It was genius! "Hi," she hummed happily beside him. "What are you up to?"

"Just a silly little potion I'm making. Nothing- What are you wearing." Cedric wasn't aware it was Halloween so why was Sofia running around dressed like- Like a  _witch_.

"Oh! I just came back from Lucinda's cauldronation. Do you have any witch spell books?" Did he- How dare- He couldn't believe! How dare she insult him like that!

"I'm afraid, Princess Sofia, that you'll find nothing like that in  _my_  workshop."

She frowned at that. "Oh. Well do you know where I can find any? I want to be a witch."

"What happened to wanting to be a sorcerer!"

"I was Lucinda's witch of honor and I used a witch spell to turn all her friends from owls back into people and it was ah. Mazing!" She used a witch spell. A  _witch_ \- How dare the girl betray him like this.

"I see." The potion should be done by now. Good. "You would be best asking your  _witch_  friends, then." Hmph.  _Witches_.

"Can boys be witches, Mister Cedric? You should be one! It's lots of fun."

"As if I would ever stoop that low," Cedric grumbled under his breath. It was official, James was now the child he hated least in this castle. "A sorcerer's wand won't work well with witch spells, you know."

"Why not? I don't see a big difference."

"There is a huge difference!"

"Like what?"

"Well for  _starters_ , witches use long worded and complicated phrases as their spells and they're all so  _nature_  themed. Sorcerers can do incredible feats with just a single word but ohho, not witches! They don't have as much magic, either!"

"So you  _do_  have books about witches!" Curse this girl. Waving towards one of the bookshelves, Cedric just barely repressed the urge to sneer.

"On the bottom shelf. There's only three of them, though." Now just carefully pour a little bit of the potion onto her head... Sofia bent down to retrieve the books, humming cheerfully as she did so. Sprinkling just a few drops on the girl's head, Cedric beamed as he felt his pockets grow heavier. Brilliant! This was- Wait. "You used a witch spell? Successfully?"

"Uh huh! Turning witches that got turned into owls back into witches! They couldn't hold their wands, so they taught me the spell!" That couldn't be right. Only witches could cast witch spells - or very strong magic users. The amulet, maybe? Hm.

"Interesting. Well, no matter. I still think you'd be a far better sorcerer."

"But sorcerers don't have cauldronations!"

"Is that what this is all about? You wanting a cauldronation?" Why would she want a hideous, tacky thing like that?

"Well not just that! Sorcerers don't ride brooms!" For good reason! Whizzing about and always one inch from death. Who needed to fly when you could just use a teleportation spell!

"For good reason. Come on, then. What else can witches do that sorcerers can't."

Sofia opened her mouth before closing it with a frown. "They hex!"

"Oh, yes, that's a good reason to become a witch. So you can go around hexing people- There are hexes for sorcerers too, you know! And ours aren't so... _childish_."

"Well, I mean... Sorcerers just wear robes."

"What's wrong with robes?" Robes were just fine! Right?

"Well..." Sofia have a gesture to herself, smiling at him.

"I think your robes were nicer." Much better than all that spiderweb nonsense she had going on. And that hat? Hideous. "Fine, be a witch if you want but I won't be able to help you much."

"...Why not?"

"I'm not able to do witch magic," Cedric said, giving a small shrug. "There's a reason I'm a sorcerer, after all."

"Oh," he heard her say softly, and for a moment, he thought he heard her mutter before, "Um, I- I'll be back."

"I have no doubt." Watching as she left, Cedric eagerly searched his pockets, pulling out... Sofia's tiara and her bracelet. Oh, Merlin's Mushrooms. He had really been expecting that one to work.

::

"Well, Mister Ceedric, I figured it out!" Sighing at the remains of one of his latest potion ingredients, Cedric cleaned it up with a flick of the finger as he looked to where the door had been thrown open.

"Oh? And what, Princess Sofia, have you figured out?"

"I think being a witch would be great, but being a sorcerer is even better," she hummed happily.

"Oh." Well, he was glad she had come to her senses. Looking over, he saw she was once again in her 'sorcerer's outfit'. "Yes, well, that much is obvious, of course!"

"Besides, why should I try to be a witch when the best sorcerer in the realm is right here to teach me?" Alright, Sofia was now the favorite royal child. What was he thinking having James be the favorite? Far too rambunctious, that one.

"Quite right. I'm glad you've returned to your senses." Studying her for a moment, Cedric hummed as he went over to his bookshelf. There should be that one book on animal spells that would suit her... It wasn't like Cedric ever dealt with animals and Sofia was always talking to that rabbit friend of hers.

"Okay! What are you gonna teach me first?" Let's see... Boils, cauldrons, nature spells, food spells, Wassailia- Ah, animal spells! Pulling the book out with a bit of a flourish, Cedric proudly held it out to her. Let witches top  _that_. "...Animal spells? Like controlling animals," she asked with a frown. Ah, yes. For as magical and powerful she could be, she was infuriatingly  _good._  Ugh.

"No, no, no. That's far more advanced spellwork. This is for communicating with, helping, and understanding them. It's mostly how to talk to animals and how to heal them, I believe."

"Oh! Well, I don't need a spell to talk to them," she said cheerfully to him. "Ever since I saved a baby bird my first day here, I've always been able to talk to them as long as I have my amulet on, and I promised to never ever take it off."

"I figured as much." It was nice to have the confirmation, though. "The Amulet of Avalor is a powerful magical artifact that can great untold powers depending on the actions you take." ...Why was he telling her this? The less she knew the better!

"I know," she said seriously. "Dad said that when he tried to pick something to give me to welcome me to the castle, the amulet was glowing, like it chose me." It... It chose her? Cedric might have underestimated how difficult it would be to get the amulet from her.

"Perhaps it saw how well you do at magic."

"I'd never done magic before, though!" She looked down at her amulet, holding it close. "I think Elena just knew."

"Elena as in the mythical lost princess of Avalor Elena?" Perhaps he had underestimated  _Sofia_.

"Oh, well, she's not lost anymore. She was just stuck in my amulet. That's why it was the Amulet of Avalor."

"I... What?" Trapped. There was a princess  _trapped_  in that amulet?!

"Uh huh! But now she's the Crowned Princess of Avalor. We're penpals."

"I... I see." No. No, he did not see- He really,  _really_  did not see. "That's nice." Did that mean the amulet no longer worked like it should? That would explain why it was now pink. "Perhaps you'll tell me the story sometime."

"Maybe. You said I can use magic to heal animals? That'll help Clover when Crackle gets excited!" As Sofia reached for the book, Cedric held it out of reach.

"You get this on the condition you practice  _saying_  the spells first and that the moment something goes wrong you come and get me." Purely because the King would have his head, otherwise. That was the only reason.

"I promise, Mister Cedric," she said seriously, nodding up at him. Holding the book out of reach for one more moment, Cedric nodded and gave her the book.

"Good. If you think you might need help on a spell then you can ask me, I suppose. As long as it's during a reasonable time!" He didn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night, after all.

"I will." This time, he was a bit startled by the hug. "You're the best, Cedric." Oh, there wasn't a 'Mister' in front of it that time.

"Ah, yes, well. You're quite welcome." Just...pat her on the head.

"Okay! I have to go practice!"

"Don't use it on an animal unless you know it will work!"

"Okay!"


	4. Marketplace Woes

"Alright, Wormy, let's see if we have everything here. Wand, bag, money to get supplies, empty potion bottles, that utterly useless book I need to take back, list of ingredients we need, Princess Sofia- Wha- Princess Sofia! When did you get here?"

"Just now. You left the door open." Glancing past her, he saw the door was indeed wide open. "Where are you going?"

"The Wizard's Bazaar. I need to refill on some of my potion supplies and take back this book. It was useless." Maybe talk to that fortune teller who had sold it to him, too.

"Ooh! Can I come with you? It sounds so interesting!" That sounded like an utterly horrible idea and Cedric needed to find a way to get out of this. Quickly.

"Oh, I'd love you to come, really, but what would your parents say if you suddenly disappeared! It's a terrible idea, truly."

"Oh, we can tell them on our way out! It'll only take a couple seconds.  _Please?_ "

"I, um, well..." Cedric glanced to Wormwood for help, having the overwhelming feeling that he was laughing at him. "I suppose if they say yes..."

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you! I'll be right back, I promise!"

"I've become so weak," Cedric sighed, dragging his feet towards the door. "It's okay. Maybe the King will tell her no! I"m sure he will, in fact. Let's go watch, Wormy."

"Mom! Mom!" Oh no. Quickening his pace, Cedric poked his head around the corner.

"Yes, Sofia, what is it?" King Roland wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Cedric is going to the Wizard's Bazaar, and I really want to go with him, and he said I can go, can I please please  _please?_ " Say no, say no, say no, say-

"Of course, dear. It sounds like it'll be fun."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She hugged her mother tightly before turning back to him and beaming. Cedric did his best to conjure up a smile, and oh, this was going to be a long day.

"You're going to want to put on your sorcerer robes, aren't you?"

"Oh! You're right! I'll be right back!" With that, she ran off. Nervously staring at the Queen, Cedric cleared his throat and gave a nervous smile.

"I'll take the utmost care of her, Your Majesty."

"I trust you to do so, Cedric." Alright, Queen Miranda was his favorite Royal right now. Roland and Amber were tied for last. The Queen gave him a small smile before continuing on her way to where she was heading, Cedric wondering if he should wait for Sofia or head for the entrance hall- Ooh, if he did that then maybe she wouldn't find him by the time he left.

Just as he began to walk out, she scrambled into the room. "Okay! I'm ready!" Of course. Waiting just long enough for her to catch up, Cedric nodded and led her along outside.

"Right. I don't want you wandering off, don't buy anything from any of the venders unless you know what it is and how you'll use it and even then check with me because I don't trust these people, don't wander off, absolute  _do not_  talk to any psychics or fortune tellers, don't wander off, avoid anyone that seems sketchy, and  _don't wander off_."

"Alright! Got it!" She smiled up at him and nodded. "How do we get to the wizard's bazaar?"

"Magic, of course." Pulling out his wand, Cedric cleared his throat before pausing. "You might want to close your eyes."

"Oh, um... Okay." Oh,  _now_  the girl looked uncertain. Where was this behavior when she was first practicing magic, hm? Grabbing the girl's hand, Cedric sighed. Might as well as make it a teaching moment so she wouldn't ask so many questions.

"Right. This is called the Here to There spell. It teleports you from one place to another. If you don't close your eyes, you get dizzy. That's about it. Now, hold on tight." Clearing his throat again, Cedric swished his wand with purpose. "Transporto Appearo - Wizard's Bazaar!"

As they appeared at the bazaar, he could hear her muttering beside him, "Transporto Appearo, Transporto Appearo..." At least she was practicing saying the spells, now.

"Remember, stay close and try not to wander off. Also, try not to get caught up in any of the 'spells' they use here." Show-offs, the lot of them.

"Okay, no wandering off. Who are you bringing this book to?"

"Madame Aloo. She runs a small store here that specializes in fortune telling."

"Ooo. I met a fortune teller, once."

"They're a dime a dozen." Cedric waved off, pausing as he stared at where he was still holding Sofia's hand. When had that happened. Letting go a bit quickly, Cedric cleared his throat. "Come along. We have a lot of stops to make today."

"Oh. Okay." She hurried along after him and they quickly found the correct stall. Pulling the book out, Cedric slammed it on the table and narrowed his eyes at  _Aloo_.

"I want a full refund."

"Oh, hi Madam Ubetcha!"

"Wha- Madam  _what_?" Cedric stared at Sofia and how did this girl know  _everyone_?

"Madam Ubetcha. A magician stole Clover and she helped me get him back."

"...Right. Madam Aloo, I would like to get a full refund for this scam of a book you sold me last month."

"That book is no scam! That is one of my best sellers! No refund!"

"Not one single thing in this worked!"

"Not my fault you are bad at crystal gazing! Bah!"

"Because it's such an unreliable method of magic! Name one honest crystal gazer who actually knows what they're doing? Exactly! You can't! It's impossible!"

"She helped me find Clover," Sofia put in 'helpfully.' Giving her a sharp look, Cedric grumbled as he looked back to Madame Aloo. Curse them all.

"What about a trade instead of a refund, then?"

"Perhaps something can be arranged," the woman said with a smirk.

"Oo, what about this one?" Of course it was purple.

"Your little girl has better taste than you."

"Obviously she has better taste than you and your dingy little cart, too," Cedric sneered, crossing his arms. "And just because a book is purple doesn't mean it's going to be good!"

"Oh, I didn't pick it because it was purple." She turned it over and read the cover, " _Everything Your Little Sorcerer Needs To Know To Make Big Magic, a Reference._ " Blinking, Cedric looked at it over her shoulder, frowning as he gently took it and flipped through it.

"Huh. It's surprising she has something that's actually  _helpful_." It was a nice reference for beginning sorcerers, actually. It covered all the basics for year one and a bit of year two.

"You are trading books, right? Give her that one and you get another?" Oh, no. This time Cedric  _knew_  she was trying to manipulate him. Well, she had another thing coming if she thought it was going to work!

"Fine. It's unlikely  _I'll_  find anything of use around here." Dropping the book back into her hands, Cedric raised an eyebrow at Madame 'Aloo' - if that was her real name. "We'll take that one."

"Perfect." On his shoulder, Wormwood cawed, causing Sofia to frown.

"Wormwood, be nice," she huffed. Wormwood only gave another caw, Cedric sighing as he nudged Sofia along.

"Come along, we have other places to be today."

"Fine. Thank you, Madam Ubetcha!"

"You betcha! Nice to see you have better taste than your idiot... Father? Uncle?" Wha-  _What_?!

"Oh, no, he's a... family friend."

"I am not an idiot!" This day was already exhausting and it hadn't even begun... He was never bringing Sofia here again.

::

All things considered, it hadn't been a bad day at the marketplace. Cedric got everything he needed, Sofia only wandered off once due to getting distracted by crystals - Cedric might have bought one or two purely for his own magic, he was just having Sofia hold them - and nothing ended with disaster! Really, it was a good day... King Roland was standing in the entrance hall and glaring at him. Oh no. "Hi dad," Sofia chirped beside him, holding her new book tightly.

"Sofia. I was wondering where you had gone off too." Roland was still glaring at him. That was a very not good thing. Alright, Sofia, just don't tell him where they went-

"We were at the wizard's bazaar. I asked Mom if it was okay." This girl was far too sweet and that just made it all worse.

"I see. You've been spending an awful lot of time with Cedric, you know." Cedric wanted out of this conversation now.

"Uh huh. He's been teaching me all about being a great sorcerer."

"Has he." Tensing as Roland's gaze turned to him, Cedric gave a nervous little wave. "Cedric, could I have a word with you?"

"Aaactually, Dad! I was hoping maybe you could help me with some of my homework for school!" She was giving Roland her cheeriest, brightest smile Cedric had ever seen.

"O-Oh, well, yes, of course. How about I join you in your room as soon as I'm done talking to Cedric?" Roland was wavering. Sofia was now his favorite Royal.

" _Please,_  Dad? I really really need help on it, and you're the King, so you're the best person to ask. It's all about royal greetings and proper manners depending on who you're talking to and it's really confusing."

"Right now?" Roland asked weakly, looking completely defeated. "Very well. I suppose I can talk to Cedric later."

" _Great!_  Let's go!" Sofia dragged Roland away at once, giving a bright grin and little wave back at Cedric.

"Wormy, how do you feel about leaving the castle and never coming back?" Roland was going to kill him next time they saw each other. Wormwood cawed, and Cedric rather got the impression he was rolling his eyes.

::

"I will not be run out of this castle because I'm afraid." Yes, Cedric had three escape routes planned and was clutching his wand like a security blanket as he brewed a potion Baileywick wanted for something or other, but that didn't mean he was  _afraid_.

"Cedric." Shrieking in total and complete fear, Cedric scrambled to save his potion he had knocked over before turning with wide eyes to see King Roland standing in his doorway. "I don't appreciate you teaching Sofia magic behind my back."

"If we're being technical, Your Majesty, I've never actually taught her any magic." At least, he didn't think he had in the traditional sense. "Although I did help her pass a school sorcery test a few months back."

"Then I suppose I'll have to take her out of that class." What? He had never seen Roland as the type to honestly hate magic. Annoyed by it, certainly, but never hate.

"Prince James and Princess Amber are in the same class. As far as my knowledge goes, it's a core class for all princes and princesses at that school." Sorcery and magic was a part of their entire land... How could you ever hate it?

"Well, I don't want Sofia messing around with any sort of magic. That Amulet she has is enough." N... No. That's not- That's not how this worked.

"With all due respect, King Roland, the Amulet of Avalor doesn't  _give_  magic to people. It amplifies the magic someone has through their deeds. Whatever Princess Sofia has done she's done through her own magic and merit."

"You know quite a lot about her amulet, Cedric." Gritting his teeth, Cedric clenched his fists and gave an aggravated sigh.

"Of  _course_  I do. It's one of the most well-known magical artifacts in the world right now. What sorcerer wouldn't know of the Amulet of Avalor?"

"I see." Roland sighed, crossing his arms. "I don't want Sofia to be a sorcerer, Cedric. She's a princess. Princesses have sorcerers to do magic for them."

"Oh, yes, because there has  _never_  been a Princess with magic before. I wonder what half of the princesses in our history think about that- And for another matter I never wanted her to be one! She just sort of became one."

" _Someone_  has given her the books she's got littered around her room."

"She was curious and I figured it wouldn't do any harm to let her read them."

"And where did she get the wand?"

"A dingy old thing I had lying around that I gave to her since she took the last one from her school."

"She  _what?_ "

"Borrowed! I should say she borrowed it!" Oh, this wasn't going well at all, was it? "I don't see why you're so against this, Your Majesty. She'll probably grow out of it in a few months, no matter what. Children are fickle."

"Perhaps. If she still wants to learn magic, I don't want you to be the one to teach her." And just what was  _that_  supposed to mean? Yes, Cedric could be a little flighty with his magic, but he was Royal Sorcerer for a reason! He was Cedric the Sensational! "Despite what you hope for, you are not your father or your sister, Cedric."

For a moment, it felt like time had been frozen. It felt like it should have been frozen. "You..." This. This was why he wanted to steal that Amulet and take the crown. Because he could do better than this fool ever could. "You have no right to say that to me." Roland had made just as many mistakes yet Cedric's were the ones never forgotten. How was that fair?

Just before either of them could say anything, there was a loud boom, and a shriek of, " _Cedric!_ " Cedric was out the door and running down the stairs, wand clutched tightly in his hand and no, no, no, that  _stupid_  girl! He got to her room to see that the door was... blocked. By her dollhouse? "I can't get out!"

"Are you hurt? Trapped under anything? Can you move?"

"Yeah, but... I'm stuck, I can't go anywhere." At least she wasn't hurt. Sighing, Cedric inspected the doll house with a frown.

"Did you happen to use an enlargement spell, by chance?"

"Maybe. I practiced it a hundred times though!"

"Well, you seem to have done a good job with it." This was quite large for a first attempt... Just how much were her powers boosted by the amulet? "Did you get to the chapter about shrinking spells?"

"I looked, but it needs a magic dust!" Maybe he should start keeping supplies in Sofia's room so these things didn't happen in the future.

"Alright, alright. I'll go get some from my tower and be back to preform the spell. It'll only take me a short time. In the future, though, try to have everything need to perform both spells for situations like these."

"Sofia? Sofia, what happened?"

"Um. Nothing! Cedric is going to fix it!"

"I don't know if that's the safest option, Sofia. We can find some other way to get you out!" Ugh. He was never going to be trusted when it came to his magic.

"No," she said forcefully. "Cedric can do it." Trying not to grin too much, Cedric nodded to Roland as a proper Royal Sorcerer should.

"I'll be right back with the spell to reverse this, Your Majesty."

And he was right back, only to see the King and Baileywick trying to force their way into the room. Raising an eyebrow at how little progress was being made, Cedric rolled his eyes as he began to prep the spell. Honestly, magical mistakes could only be corrected through more magic. Or something like that. "If you're done trying to destroy her doll house, I believe I have something that will be much more effective."

"No, the last thing we need is more magic," Roland said, frowning at him. Trying to stay calm, Cedric took a deep breath and he could do this. If Sofia needed him to do this, then he could  _do this._

"I know what I'm doing." Without pausing to wait for him, Cedric cast the spell on the dollhouse and watched as it shrank back down to a manageable size. Ignoring the other two, Cedric stepped over and walked into the room, slumping at what he saw. "The spell bounced a few times, didn't it?"

"Maybe a few," came her voice from behind the vanity. The vanity that was knocked over and seemed to be trapping her back against a corner. Sighing, Cedric slowly went around the room, unshrinking objects one by one and firmly concentrating on the fact that Sofia would be fine and that she wasn't hurt.

After a few minutes, Cedric finally finished with the vanity, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow down at Sofia. "What did I say about being careful when casting spells?" Sofia didn't answer, only hugging him tightly, her hands tangling in his robes. "Yes, well, I suppose you did learn a lesson." Cedric gently patted at her head, a tiny smile slipping out. "I think you've practiced enough magic today."

"I'm so so sorry, I promise I won't try any magic unless you're there." Nodding, Cedric cleared his throat and nudged the girl away a bit.

"Right. Why don't you go reassure the King that you're alright."

"Um... Actually, I think I'll stay in here."

"Really?" That was strange. He thought Sofia  _adored_  King Roland.

She nodded, taking a step back. "Really."

"Alright, if you're sure." Giving her another pat on the head, Cedric took another glance around the room to make sure everything was back to how it should be. "If you'd like, I'm working on a potion... You can come watch since you're  _dreadfully_  behind on potions."

Sofia smiled up at him. "That sounds great, Mister Cedric." Perhaps now he could keep her out of trouble - although who knew how long it would be until the next mishap. Feeling his hand taken, Cedric looked down to see that the young princess was now holding his hand. Well, it wasn't the worst thing to happen to accidentally take on an apprentice.


	5. Cold Shoulder

Cedric walked through the dining room while the royal family was sat for lunch. "Sofia, can you pass the green beans, please?" Sofia... Had she not heard Roland speaking? It didn't seem like it, since she just kept eating as if nothing was wrong.

"Here, Dad, I got them," James offered, half climbing over the table in order to slide the green beans over to the end of the table.

"Thank you, James," Roland sighed. "Sofia, when you're finished with the salt, can you pass it to me?" There was a long silence at the table, Amber clearing her throat and giving Sofia a small nudge.

"Sofia, Dad asked if you could pass the salt. Didn't you hear him?"

"No," she said, far too cheerily. "I didn't hear anything." Narrowing his eyes, Cedric stared at her for a long moment. Her dress was still purple so it didn't seem so she had made an evil clone of herself again. Was someone controlling her.

"Wha- Sofia," Amber frowned. "What has gotten into you? You're not being very nice which is... It's very unlike you."

Sofia frowned at her. "Amber, I'm not being mean."

"You're ignoring Dad and acting like he's not even there!" Sofia only gave a quiet 'harumph' and that was that. It was quite hard for Cedric to not give Sofia a proud, beaming smile- Alright, so he might have, but no one was looking at him. There was no proof he had done anything.

"Sofia, I don't think I like this new attitude," Roland said with a frown, setting his fork down.

"I'm sure it's just a phase," Miranda said calmly, laying a hand on Roland's arm. "Why don't I talk to her after dinner? She's probably just upset over something and needs to work it out."

"Oh... Alright," Roland sighed, smiling at Miranda. While this was all fascinating to watch, he wondered why Sofia was ignoring Roland in the first place. They hadn't gotten into a fight, as far as he knew. But then, Cedric never did know what went on behind closed doors. Perhaps that was for the best, all things considered.


	6. Sharp Tongues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should be mentioned that most of the drabbles in this series are meant to run congruently with canon. So, this drabble is before Hexley Hall, but after Cauldronation. Something to bear in mind!

It was a small thing, but it was starting to get more and more noticeable. It wasn't much, but... Sofia never smiled when she spoke with Wormwood. Often, she would reprimand him, with something like 'don't be mean,' or, 'be nice, Wormwood,' or - A sharp gasp, "Wormwood!" Or something like that.

Wormwood cawed in a way that sounded like laughter, Cedric frowning as he looked to where Sofia was working on a basic beginner potion. "Sofia? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, everything's fine, Cedric, Wormwood almost... bumped into me." Raising an eyebrow at the obvious lie, Cedric sighed and shook his head. She would tell him if it really was a problem... Right? "Wormwood, that's enough," he heard her mumble. Wormwood and Sofia were definitely fighting against something. "Quiet! You're going to make me ruin my potion!"

As Wormwood started cawing and crowing again, Cedric huffed and went over to wave him off his stand, "Enough now, Wormy, you know how much concentration potion work requires. Why don't you go hunt in the garden for the rest of the afternoon." Wormwood swept around the room with another caw before flying out.

Cedric watched as Sofia stopped everything for a moment before, with her back to him, she stood and quickly left the workshop. What on earth had that been about? Should he follow her? No, that would mean emotional talks and probably crying. Perhaps he should find an animal translation spell and ask Wormy what it had all been about. Or... Perhaps he should find an animal translation spell and use it without telling them. Then he could hear what these fights were all about. Yes... That was actually quite a good plan!

He needed to look into it immediately! Who knew when Wormwood or Sofia might come back? Speaking of... Glancing over at Sofia's potion, Cedric cast a simple stasis charm he half-remembered. At seeing nothing wrong happen, he nodded, and, right. That should last a good two hours or so.

That was about when Sofia came back, smiling at him. "Sorry, I forgot it was lunch time."

"Perfectly fine," Cedric waved off, gesturing to her potion. "It should be how you left it."

"Oh! Thanks!"

Now where was that animal translation book...

::

The next day and Cedric had cast the spell on himself right before Sofia's lesson. Wormwood hadn't spoken yet so he wasn't sure if he had gotten it right, yet. There was a gentle knock at the door before she pushed it open. "I hope it's okay I brought a friend."

"I don't- Oh. Yes, that's fine." Well, animals were often helpful in magic. Perhaps the rabbit helped her in some way.

"Don't you worry, Sof, I've got your back with this creep." Oh, okay. The spell was working and- Wow. Cedric did not expect a bunny's voice to be that deep.

"Oh, yes, because you've bested me so often in the past."

Sofia smiled and held her rabbit close. "It's going to be fine, Clover. So, what am I learning today?"

"You did well enough on that potion yesterday so I thought we might do something similar today. Baileywick wanted me to make one that will help the garden out. Would you like to try it?"

"Oo, sounds fun."

"Anything would to you, wouldn't it?"

Sofia seemed to pretend she hadn't heard anything. "Is this just to make the plants grow bigger?"

"And to keep bugs off of them," Cedric nodded, hiding a frown. It didn't seem anything too bad, just a bit of gentle teasing.

"Okay, what do we do first?"

"You horribly mangle the spell, and Cedric cleans up your mess."

"Well! Like always, we gather the ingredients first. I already have the book open to the potion we'll be using if you want to take a look at it." That was a bit harsh. Wormy was supposed to be sweet and kind and gentle!

"Hm... Okay. Eyes next to eyes, toes next to toes..." Sofia ran around the room, gathering the ingredients. As she did, Clover and Wormwood seemed to be glaring at each other.

"We meet again, you underfed chicken. If you think you're gonna mess with my girl today then oh-ho, do you have another thing coming!"

"Please, you pampered rodent. I don't even need to try. It comes naturally."

"Clover," Sofia called.

"Whaaat? I'm just telling him what's what, Princess!" As the bunny puffed himself up, Cedric could only stare. Is this what Sofia dealt with every single day?

Sofia only shot them her disarmingly cheery smile. "You two be nice to each other, alright?"

"So long as he is."

"Funny, I was about to say the same about  _you_."

"Have you gathered all the ingredients, Sofia?" Cedric couldn't handle this much chatter. He regretted this spell already and it hadn't even been five minutes.

"Um... I think so."

"Funny, I didn't believe you did much thinking."

"Wormwood," she said with a frown, as though he was nothing more than a slight annoyance. As though this were  _normal._  That... That didn't sit right with Cedric. Keeping a careful eye on Wormwood, Cedric ushered Sofia over to the work station.

"Alright, let's set up your cauldron and start boiling your water."

"On low, or high? Doesn't it still boil on low?"

"It will, but it'll take longer. Just put it on high for five minutes and then turn it to low once it starts bubbling. Not the most 'magical' way but certainly efficient."

"Okay," she said with a nod, setting the water to boil. "What do I do while I wait?"

"You can start chopping a few things here, as well as cutting a few others. It's also good to double check and make sure you have everything." Cedric squinted at the toad eyes, shaking his head. "No, no, we can use fresher than that." Grabbing them, he went back to the shelves, rooting around. He  _knew_  he had some fresh toad eye around here.

"Honestly, Cordelia would be the much better royal sorceress. How this bumbling buffoon landed the title, I will never truly understand."

"Wormwood, be nice," Sofia said to him with a frown. Cedric, meanwhile, had come very close to dropping the glass jar he was now tightly clutching in his hands. It was one thing to be criticized by everyone around him but even his familiar? Was he just... Was he truly that bad at magic?

"Ri- Right. So cut- Er, chop the eye of toad and the, um... The lizard's tongue- No, no, you cut that, I think." He knew this. This was a basic potion so he should know this. Right?

"Mister Cedric?" Sofia frowned over at him. "Are you okay?"

"I- Ye- Yes! Of course I am!" Cedric set the jar down, shaking his head. "Chop the eye of toad and then cut the lizard's tongue into slices." Focus, Cedric, stay focused.

"Um... Can you do it," she asked, pushing the knife over to him. Raising an eyebrow, Cedric didn't say anything besides taking the knife and doing as asked. It was honestly probably safer if Sofia didn't use the knife quite yet.

"Aren't you supposed to be a familiar?" Oh, great. The rabbit was talking again. "What kind of familiar rags on their own sorcerer or whatever? That's bad for morale, you know!"

"Well, it's certainly not as if he knows any better. And it's not as if I chose him." Quickly clearing his throat, Cedric dropped the knife before he could do something as stupid as cutting himself.

"Right, that should be good enough. Why don't you read through the potion and you can add in the first ingredient?"

"Okay," she said softly, looking over the book. "Mister Cedric?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think, if I'm as good a sorcerer as you, Clover can be my familiar?" ...This girl was far too good for them all. Fighting back a smile, Cedric tried to be serious as he 'thought' through the question.

"I don't know..." Cedric looked down to the rabbit sitting nearby before plucking him up gently and setting him down on the table at Sofia's side. "Let's have a trial period. For now, he can just sit and watch. If he doesn't knock anything over then there's a good chance he could be one day."

"Really? A familiar doesn't need to be magic? Clover really can be my familiar?" She looked so excited and pleased, picking him up and holding him close.

"Whoa, whoa, princess, watch the fur!" Ah, this was going to be interesting.

"Wormy doesn't have magic and he's still my familiar. While traditionally many familiars had magic not all of them do. While they're meant to help stabilize your magic, nowadays they just help with your spells and potions."

"Well... Traditionally, princesses are born princesses, and only boys ride in Flying Derby."

"Exactly," Cedric beamed. "So why stop proving them all wrong now?"

"Okay- Oh! It's boiling! I pour in the tongues now, right?"

"Yes, now you pour in the tongues. Careful not to cause any splashes, though. The water is still boiling, after all."

"Yes, you've made that mistake plenty, haven't you. Teaching your apprentice to be just like you." Crossing his arms and trying to keep his smile, Cedric tightly gripped his sleeves. Just... Just pretend to actually be competent for the rest of Sofia's class and then he could go screw things up. "With how many mistakes she makes, I'm starting to see the resemblance."

"Wormwood." There was no smile on Cedric's face. "You can insult me all you wish, but please leave her out of this." He was used to these insults. He had heard them all, but Sofia? Cedric would not let her go through the same.

They all stared at him with wide eyes. "M- Mister Cedric?"

"Woah! Did not see that one coming!"

"As incompetent as I am with my magic I am capable of casting animal translation spells." Cedric walked over to Wormwood, staring him in the eye. "I have no illusions about us. We don't get along. You didn't pick me and I didn't get my chance to pick you. You stick with me out of a duty to the craft and I will respect that much. You can tear me down all you wish but you will stop saying these nasty things about Sofia. Have I made myself  _clear_." Wormwood stared at him before quickly flying out of the tower, leaving them as though he hadn't been there to begin with.

Sofia frowned, crossing her arms. "But you're not incompetent with your magic." Staring down at the headstrong little girl that had shoved her way into his life, Cedric gave a laugh that sounded far too bitter.

"How about after we finish this potion you ask Bailywick about the Sorcerer's Ball that was held for my sister when we were young. It might explain a bit more about everything. First, though, you need to be adding in those chopped toad eyes."

"But you're  _not,_ " she said, pushing the subject. "Every single time I needed your help you've always been able to use your magic to help me and you never mess it up."

"Yes, well, with you failure isn't much of an option." Not with how much danger she managed to squirm her way out of just  _barely_.

"You won that competition and got your family wand, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but only after everything went wrong. Everyone was almost melted into water!"

"You did all the things that James asked you to when he was King for a Day."

"Children are easy to please, it never takes much. And my wand was shrunk when I tried to shrink the baby giant, you'll remember."

"But when you made a tiny door, no one laughed or said that you were bad at magic." Well-! Well... No one had, actually. Shaking his head, Cedric added in the next ingredient.

"Just... Please ask Baileywick." Because he couldn't bring himself to tell that story. "And perhaps if you see Wormwood to tell him I'm sorry. The animal translation spell is wearing off so I might not be able to hear him when he gets back."

"But- I-!" Sofia stomped her foot on the ground, making a noise of frustration. "I know that you stole my amulet a couple weeks ago!"

"Wha- What?!" Cedric took a panicked step back, shocked. She knew? She had never said anything!

"Come  _on_  Cedric!  _Switcherwitchitus switcheroo?_  I knew you were trying to take it for ages!"

"You... Why did you never tell anyone, then? You could have told King Roland immediately! It's not like he wouldn't believe you!" Roland always though the worst of him this wouldn't surprise him in the least.

"Because you gave it back," she said, as though it were obvious.

"You didn't know I would. There's still the fact I stole it to begin with!"

Sofia finally smiled up at him. "But you forget there's still the fact that you're good."

"You seem to be the only one to believe such a thing." Sighing, Cedric shook his head. This was a fight he didn't want to get into. "You're never going to see the worst in me, are you?"

"You don't really have worse." Finally giving a laugh, Cedric ruffled her hair.

"You truly only see the best in people. You might want to focus on your potion, now. It's starting to bubble over."

"Ah!" Sofia yelped and immediately turned back to her potion, reading over the book and stirring it. Cedric couldn't stop another laugh from bubbling out, trying to stifle it and not doing too good of a job. "Cedric, help!"

"It's alright, it's alright," Cedric reassured, turning the fires off. "Just let it settle down before you turn the fire back on. See? It's just a little problem. Easily fixed."

Sofia gave a soft sigh, smiling. "Thanks, Cedric."

"Of course."


End file.
